title: Nano-aggregates: emerging delivery tools for tumor therapy.
abstract: A plethora of formulation techniques have been reported in the literature for site-specific targeting of water-soluble and -insoluble anticancer drugs. Along with other vesicular and particulate carrier systems, nano-aggregates have recently emerged as a novel supramolecular colloidal carrier with promise for using poorly water-soluble drugs in molecular targeted therapies. Nano-aggregates possess some inherent properties such as size in the nanometers, high loading efficiency, and in vivo stability. Nano-aggregates can provide site-specific drug delivery via either a passive or active targeting mechanism. Nano-aggregates are formed from a polymer-drug conjugated amphiphilic block copolymer. They are suitable for encapsulation of poorly water-soluble drugs by covalent conjugation as well as physical encapsulation. Because of physical encapsulation, a maximum amount of drug can be loaded in nano-aggregates, which helps to achieve a sufficiently high drug concentration at the target site. Active transport can be achieved by conjugating a drug with vectors or ligands that bind specifically to receptors being overexpressed in the tumor cells. In this review, we explore synthesis and tumor targeting potential of nano-aggregates with active and passive mechanisms, and we discuss various characterization parameters, ex vivo studies, biodistribution studies, clinical trials, and patents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dr. Hari Singh Gour Central University, Sagar (M.P.), India.
authors.forename: Vinod Kumar
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Ankit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Vandana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004339:Drug Compounding; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D008823:Micelles; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000639:trends; D010330:Patents as Topic; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008823:Micelles